Daily Devotions from The Word Of God… From the heart of Ed Algreen

Archive for the ‘Reverence’ Category

Scripture

Bible Text:62 They turned to Zacharias and asked him what he wanted the baby’s name to be. 63 He motioned for a tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was shocked by this breach of family custom. 64 They were even more surprised when, at that moment, Zacharias was able to talk again, and he shouted out praises to God. 65 A sense of reverence spread through the whole community. In fact, this story was spread throughout the hilly countryside of Judea.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)

My Take

For those who are not familiar with the context of this story, I will add that Zechariah and Elizabeth had gone childless most of their lives, but not without praying intimately to God for a child. Finally, one day (when the time was right with God) while working in the temple, God told Zechariah about the great answer to his prayers, as his wife would bear a child. Like most other seniors, this made Zechariah seriously question God on how could this possibly happen to such an old lady. Because of his questioning, God made him speechless until the child was born. In spite of all this, Zechariah never lost hope or his faith in the Almighty, because soon enough he would see that his wife was indeed pregnant. As I meditated on these verses today, I tried to imagine how this may have gone down in today’s world, for we seldom have temple workers, other than, perhaps, the janitors. However, God is not constrained to just appearing to someone at their church building, so I believe that God would meet the individual in a place where He knows that He would be most effective in getting His point across to them. So skip forward to the story in today’s scripture and let’s imagine how this might happen in today’s world. I believe that because of Elizabeth’s age, her very close friends would probably still keep a very close eye on her, even though in today’s society we seem much too busy with our own affairs to be bothered with, or care about the happenings at our neighbor’s home. But let’s assume that a few friends and the mother’s pastor went along to the hospital to encourage Elizabeth, and to comfort poor Zechariah during the time that his wife were in the capable hands of the doctors and nurses. After seeing this birth come to fruition, can you imagine these loved ones walking away in jaw-dropping awe over this old lady having her first baby? Now fast forward to eight days later when these friends came along after the circumcision for the naming of the baby. I’m sure that it would go without saying that the baby boy would be named after his old dad, however, like everything else in this story up to this time, the naming is also way out there, and quite unexpected. Witnessing the return of Zechariah’s speech, and considering all the surrounding miracles in John the Baptist’s birth, in our world today there may be enough to stir up a sense of revival in the lives of those near to the family, and it may have stirred them to give a testimony or two at their local churches, but do you think that it would have made the local papers or television news? Probably not, because it would be sure to promote the holiness and power of God. But what does it do to you and I, Christians? We’ve read the story and heard sermons that include this story year after year, but does it fill our heard with the awe-inspiring power of God, and the encouragement to spread the good news about our Father, that He is the same today, as He was yesterday and in the actions involving the story of Elizabeth, Zechariah and John the Baptist? I’m sure that unbelievers can’t wrap their minds around this type of event, but for Christians, we should feel goosebumps every time we are reminded of the power of our awesome God! That’s my God, friends! Do you know Him? If not, would you like a personal introduction? If you are one who likes to DIY, please refer to my Footnote and see from God’s Word how important this step of faith is to your eternity.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You did it before, and I believe that You can do it again, today and every day – praise the wonderful name of Jesus! Please work in the lives of Christians, beginning with me, and miraculously work in the lives of unbelievers, to draw us to the foot of the cross and witness the love, peace, power and miracles of our awesome God. Lord, I am convinced that as we experience this in our lives, we will be more apt to share with others our experience, and the source of our experience, because of Your power and Your grace. There is so much to consider in the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but Lord You may very well be working out Your precious plan in the lives of those of us who are dedicated and obedient to Your call today also. May we stay the course, and keep trusting in You, while You work out Your plan for our future. Others will be touched along the way and come to know You as Lord and Savior, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go towww.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you atBible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!